Kentucky & Tennessee Spontaneity!

BBQ Fesitval in Paducah, KY

We have made it to Nashville, TN! Today we're making our base at a coffee shop near downtown Nashville! We have some computer work we both need to do.  We're in Nashville for a week and don't have anything planned until Friday or Saturday when our gigs are.  We'll be rehearsing some songs, checking out the city, and visiting a lot of coffee shops.  If you have any suggestions of what to do…let us know! Lately we've been all about the spontaneity and I'll try and update you as best as I can!

This past week we were in St. Charles and St. Louis, MO.  We played at some coffee shops, churches, a seminary, and a college.  It was really cool to have such different venues. 

Okay well I put the blog post on pause and now am finishing it in a hotel room. I'll explain later...but this is what happens sometimes and is part of the spontaneity!

We also were able to catch up with a lot of friends from college! We had a pizza and youtube night with Travis Besel, Jonathan McGuire, Joel Heckmann, and Dawn Martin.  Travis, Joel, and I went running at the big park earlier that day to. It was awesome because we used to all be on the same college cross country team so it felt like a team again! Also it's ALWAYS a blessing running with other people!

We made our way to Belleville, IL where we played for a campus ministry at a college.  We started playing and they had a bunch of pizza for anyone and everyone and then it felt like the whole school showed up! They were a great crowd too. We then had Bible study after with a few of them which is always encouraging to dig into the Word with other people. 

The next day we were going to head to Nashville, TN but this is where the spontaneity comes in.  We saw we were passing through Kentucky and that wasn't on our list of shows so Sarah looked up open-mic nights in Paducah, KY and found one which was the next day when we'd be passing through! We figured we could just camp just outside the city afterwards. 

Joaquin!

Sarah was talking to a friend back home (in Indiana) and she thought it sounded fun so her and her dad drove down to Paducah, KY for the open-mic night and also to hang out and camp with us! It was awesome!

Our random music guy

We made it to Paducah and went to the coffee shop and asked about open-mic night.  Then the guy working asked us if we had been to the BBQ fest that was going on by the river and we said we didn't know of any BBQ fest so he directed us that way. We made our way to the river and the smell of BBQ filled the air! There were venders all up and down the streets and they had a stage for live music too.  As we were finishing up and heading back toward the car this one guy stopped us because Sarah was carrying her guitar. He asked what we played and directed us to the owner of a cigar shop.  As we approached this owner his name was Joaquin and he looked Spanish but he had an Irish accent. I was very confused. We talked and he invited us to play our music for the afternoon in front of his store and we could set out a tip jar. We asked where he'd like us to be and he replied in his irish accent, "Oh you can set up wherever you'd like, love."  Whenever we'd have a question he'd respond, "Of course, love." Ha. It was great! Turns out he was born in Spain but grew up in Ireland! Nailed it. The people in Paducah were SO friendly.  Sarah and I ran to the car and grabbed our instruments and equipment and set up.  We started playing for people passing by. Some would stop and listen others would glance over and give us smiles.  We met a lot of people that day. People would stop and talk to us and one guy had his guitar with him and stopped and played a couple songs too.  

Open-Mic Night! 

camping and our awesome campfire log 

After we were done we went to the coffee shop to get ready for open mic-night.  It was almost time and there were a lot of talented people there! We played twice and Alex and her dad were able to show up and Alex was able to play once too! It was a great night.  People played originals, covers, and there were a handful of spoken word poets.  Some of them were even Christians.  Two girls played the cup song from Pitch Perfect and it was awesome. We met a lot of great people there as well.   

Afterwards we went camping at a state park near by.  We were in no rush to get up the next day so we slept in and slowly ate breakfast and got ready for the day.   That day we were on our way to Nashville and Alex and her dad ended up driving down with us and went to a concert of the band called Jenny & Tyler.   We made it to Nashville and and got to the concert and there were 3 bands that played before them.  They were all very talented people.  

band at festival

Alex's dad offered to pay for a hotel room for us which was a HUGE blessing because we had no where to stay.  We actually had no place to stay in Nashville before any of the days we got here. I was praying that God would provide something and He did just that! I was okay with the first night but the next few nights I was a little nervous about not having a place to stay and with very few connections.  

Jenny & Tyler

The day after the concert was a Sunday and I wanted to try and make it to a church too for The Sunday morning service but that didn't happen.  Instead we slept in and went to a coffee shop to do work (where I began this post)  and then I saw that a friend form college and a fellow bridesmaid in a wedding I'm going to be in come November was in Nashville for a while! I messaged her and then we chatted on the phone.  She asked if I wanted to go to church with her that night...to one she used to go to when she lived here a couple years ago. I was so excited because I had wanted to hit up a church while I was here. Then last night we just ended up staying with her and that's where I'm at right now.  Sitting in the hotel room writing a blog. 

We have a place for the next few nights and then Jenny and Tyler said we could stay at  their house while they're gone this weekend which would then get us to our next stop in Chattanooga on Sunday! What an awesome God we have who provides! I must say the unknown is a little nerve-racking but it's also exciting because you never know what's going to happen.  I never imagined seeing Melissa Jones in Tennessee! Ha. Love it. Love God and Oh How He sure does love us. 

Church @ The Anchor Fellowship
in Nashville, TN

Soli Deo Gloria

Cows, Cars, & Coffee Houses!

Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year!! Colombia doesn't have seasons so I'm really excited to experience the change of climate and colors once again! It always reminds me of how things and circumstances change in life and they can be hard or good but either way things may change but our God does not! I went on a run the other morning and I stepped outside in a shirt and shorts and it had that brisk feel and smell to it.  Love it.

Right now Sarah and I are in St. Charles, Missouri which is right outside of St. Louis. We are staying with Nathan, a friend of mine who was on my Nicaragua mission trip team, and his wife. I finally have met his wife! He got married two years ago and she is so awesome.  They are such a beautiful example of a Christian marriage and have lovingly opened their house to us.  I get SO excited catching up with brothers and sisters that I haven't seen in a while! Praise God!

Since last Thursday we have been in Kansas City, stayed at a huge dairy farm, played at a seminary in St. Louis, and had a few gigs at some local coffee houses in St. Charles.  We have gotten to see a lot of old friends and also meet some new! We finally get a couple days of rest again. Today we had a Bible study with Nathan, Jaclyn, and some of their friends from church.  Tomorrow night we will have a worship night at their house where some of their friends are going to come over and we're just going to praise the Lord.  It'll be great to relax and refocus on the One who is the center of it all.

Here are some pictures of our adventures from these past few days: 

Meet Benita! She came to our show in Kansas City. It was an awesome surprise.  She introduced her herself as someone who's on my squad for the world race. She saw on facebook that we were going to be playing a show there. I flipped out and got really excited. Hopefully I didn't freak her out too much. It was so cool to see the support that I've already got from my squad without "knowing" them yet! 

Our friend, Benjy, from college grew up on a dairy farm 

and we stayed with his parents one night. They were very generous

and hospitable. His mom gave us a tour of the farm the next day! 

Here's Sarah and I with some cows at the dairy farm! 

Cows lined up that are being milked

Where the milking magic happens! 

We were late to our gig in St. Louis because of the traffic! 

Our friend Joel from college came and played 

his viola with us at our show at the seminary! 

Crooked Tree Cafe 

 One of the cafes we played at in St. Charles

The coffee house and wine bar we played 

at in St. Charles

It was a really cool set up! 

Soli Deo Gloria!

A Humbling Week

We arrived to St. Joseph last Saturday and our host family took us to a free jazz & blues concert. It was awesome! This whole week has been filled with blessings and humbling experiences.

Us with a family from the church who bought
some of our tshirts!

On Sunday we played at First Lutheran church and they took an offering for us. We were in awe of how supportive this church was to the ministry we're doing through our music.

Later that evening we played a concert at the church.  We are so encouraged by this church's outreach to the homeless in the community.  The pastor has a huge heart for the homeless and has great connections with the local men's shelter, food kitchen, and salvation army. They took a van around picking up people and families at those stops around town.  We had a BBQ dinner before the concert and then they came upstairs to enjoy music. We were able to share our passion for Christ and encourage others in His Name through our music. We didn't really get to stick around and talk with them because the van took them back right after. However, we did hear how some of them said it had been a long time since they had heard good live music like that.

At the Men's Shelter

The next day we played at the men's shelter during their dinner time. This is a transitional housing facility for men from the streets who want to get their feet back on the ground. It reminded me a lot of People's City Mission, the homeless shelter I worked at a few summers ago. The men were really responsive and one of the guys who was at our concert on Sunday stayed and listened to us that night too. They were such a huge help carrying in the speakers and our equipment. Also there was a guy who spoke Spanish who I could speak with in Spanish and he understood my Es Por Ti song! It was awesome. He told me I should translate it and sing it in English. I don't think it sounds as good or cool in English though haha.

On Tuesday we had a full day. We led some camp songs in a couple chapels for St. Paul Lutheran School to children with the age range from 2 to 12 years old! It was great interacting with kids again.  After playing for some of them we were in a gym and so I played basketball with a bunch of 5th graders.  I love working with the kids! Then at noon we went over to the Open Door Food Kitchen where we played music for the homeless during their lunchtime.  Some of them we had already seen at the men's shelter and/or the concert at the church on Monday night.  They were very encouraging and enjoyed the music.  We were able to talk with a few of them after lunch and got to hear some of their stories and how they became Christians.

Leading Camp Songs to the kiddos!

One of my favorite times on this tour thus far has been our concert that we had last night at the salvation army chapel.  Again, we saw a few familiar faces but a lot of new ones as well. They were VERY interactive. We started singing "10,000 Reasons" and we didn't ask them to join along or anything and we didn't have words for them but a majority of them started singing along with us. It. Was. Awesome.  We were just worshiping the Lord with a bunch of homeless people and sharing with them the hope that we have in Christ.  That night it didn't matter what social or economic class you were from.  That's one thing I love so much about music. It brings people of all different ages, backgrounds, and lifestyles together!

We were talking about how we didn't have enough hands to play a lot of instruments since there's just two of us so we try and get creative using our feet.  This guy comes up and he played tambourine for one of our songs.  Then he asked if we could improvise and he wanted to sing so we got a handful of other people to join us and make our own band and improvised a song. It was SO awesome!! Their faces were beaming and we just threw it together haha.  You can watch our video by clicking here.

Our friends we met this week at the Salvation Army Concert

At the concert there was another guy who spoke spanish and was from Cuba.  I started singing Es Por Ti and his face lit up.  By the 4th time singing the chorus he was singing along with us in Spanish praising God!! It was so cool!!

After the concert we ended up speaking with the people and talked about faith and one guy even showed us his Christian rap song he made! I love getting to know people and hear their stories and encourage them in Christ. This my friends...this is what it's all about.

The most humbling part of the tour so far though happened at the salvation army concert last night.  The lady in charge of the salvation army came up and prayed for us and told the people she was going to put out an offering basket for anyone who wanted to contribute to our ministry.  We tried to tell her no but she insisted.  These people who are poor and barely have anything to give still gave. It reminded us of the story where the poor widow puts the coins in the basket even though it was all she had.  Beautiful.



Tonight we have a concert at St. Paul Lutheran Church at 5 pm!! Please pray that God would reign and the people who come are encouraged and experience the heart of Christ!

Here are some photos of Sarah and I on the high ropes course at camp carol joy holling before we left Nebraska! A huge thanks to Timothy Pawley for facilitating for us!

Timothy - our ridiculously awesome creepy friend!

Soli Deo Gloria

Nebraska - The Good Life

City Auditorium - Utica, NE 

We rolled up to a town of a whopping 860 people and went to their downtown which consists of a
strip of 5 buildings altogether. This is where we were told to have our show.  We were looking for a church or something.  Turns out we passed it and as Sarah would say "got lost" in Utica, NE. However, we weren't lost. I KNEW where we were I just didn't know EXACTLY what we were looking for. :-)  It turns out that it was the city auditorium which is a cute little room with a big red curtain.  It was a really cool atmosphere to play on a stage with a bright red curtain behind us.  The town church showed up.  The pastor's wife, Hope Dunbar, opened for us and pretty much put Sarah and I to sleep listening to her soul soothing country music. It definitely calmed my nerves. :) The people who came, young and old, were very encouraging in what we are doing and it was a blessing.  Also, our hosts were awesome. We stayed in a farmhouse surrounded by beautiful Nebraska cornfields. The family was so hospitable. 

JDs Coffee shop - Seward, NE

Seward holds a special place in mine and Sarah's hearts for it is the town of our very own alma mater, Concordia University.  Sarah played at this coffee shop numerous times while in college and I actually played the saxophone there between her sets one Christmas. We played for 3 hours and it felt like forever but it was a lot of fun.  Unfortunately it was a University of Nebraska, Lincoln husker football game day. We played the 3 hours BEFORE the game but when the game is home at Memorial Stadium, the whole states shuts down.

Fun Fact: For those people who aren't from Nebraska...If memorial stadium was a "city" it would be the 3rd biggest city (population wise) on game days when it's full. (And that's how small Nebraska is....or how big the fan base is? However you want to look at it..) 

Therefore, not many people showed up.   However that night we played at.....

Neutral Groundz - Seward, NE

We had a better showing here but not only because it was AFTER the game but it's the college hangout on the weekends for Concordia Students.  This place is completely donator supported and hasn't let us down yet! Sarah used to play here as well in college and I would go there a lot to just hang out with friends and watch Classic Movies (like Alfred Hitchcock films) downstairs on their big screen once a month.  It was so great to see old faces again and have another support system backing us up on what we're doing.  Needless to say, it was a very nostalgic night.

Lutheran Chapel (University of Nebraska - Lincoln) - Lincoln, NE

Last Sunday we led worship for the University Students at UNL who attend the Lutheran Chapel. It was a different setting than what we had been playing in.  We played the song 10,000 reasons and as I started singing I got chills from hearing the chorus of people join along.  There is just something powerful about corporate worship and singing as one body to the One who deserves our praise! There also was a baptism that day of a family from China. Pastor Bill had told us that night that he had been meeting with the husband once a week for 2 years now and has seen the process of how Christ has changed his heart and saw him and his family become Christian.  It's so encouraging to heart stories like that and reminds me that a lot of evangelism is relational and takes patience. Praise God!!

Calvary Lutheran Fall Festival - Lincoln, NE

Sarah meeting Simon! 

Later that night we played at Calvary Lutheran and Sarah was able to see old faces.  We also had some new friends come out. We met them up at a lake near Aurora while we were preparing for this trip and our connection were some friends from Concordia who  are in a Bible study with them here in Lincoln.  At the fall festival it was another whole different venue. We were set up outside and just background music going on which was very laid back and fun.  Not only was there a bouncy castle there, but Sarah's friends Anna, who brought her new adopted son Simon, and Grace, who brought her adopted daughter Samantha were there and I was able to meet them too!! Simon & Samantha are both children from an orphanage in Bulgaria. It's very sad what happens to children there.  They treat them like animals and put them in cages. Thankfully these two children were saved form there and I pray God would raise up other parents who would be willing to adopt children like these precious jewels.  Sarah started a project called Saving Simon (check it out by clicking here) where music bands and people have jumped on board to help raise funds to bring Simon here for adoption and the funds came in and now he's here! Praise the Lord!!

Down Time

We played 5 times in our first three days!! It was great but very exhausting.  We've been fortunate to have down time in Lincoln and have used it to rest, catch up with friends, and rehearse a little bit. SHOUT OUT TO OUR HOST FAMILY! They are a family of 5 with 3 boys and they have been such a blessing to us.  They've let us stay with them the whole time being here and have cooked for us. Someday I hope to be a family just like them and be willing to open our house to strangers and show the love of Christ to people the way they have to us. 

Coolest Treehouse Ever!

With being an awesome family, they entrusted us with a house key.  One day Sarah decided to go work at a coffee shop while I wanted to just chill and stay at home and do laundry and such.  It was a nice day out so I went outside barefoot with my mandolin in one hand and phone in the other.  Before I left I remember thinking "Check if the door is unlocked" and I thought I did but mmm turns out I didn't... I went to go back inside and realized it was locked.  I thought well maybe a back door is unlocked? I went to their backyard and tried getting in and still no such luck....which is a good thing. They're a secure family.  So I just chilled in their awesome treehouse trying to learn the chords to "Ho Hey"  on my mandolin and it was great but then I wanted to go in somewhere.  I then remembered Pastor Bill from the Lutheran Chapel just lived a couple doors down and gave us his garage code if we ever needed anything. I went over there and got into the house...to an african man sitting at the table.  Ha.  His family is hosting a Nigerian grad student for a little bit and I forgot about that.  I introduced myself, told him my situation, and sat down at the table and tried helping him find housing online and then he told me all about Nigeria and the three tribes it is made up of and the war and all the blood that is being shed over there and the persecution happening to the Christians.  I love learning about other cultures and knowing how to pray for fellow believers all over the world. Join me in praying for Nigeria. It ended up being a big blessing and great learning experience that I locked myself out. :-)  Thankfully we were able to get back in once the boys got home from school.  

Crescent Moon - Lincoln, NE

Our last show in Lincoln was at the Crescent Moon which is located in the basement of an old

building in downtown Lincoln.  I had never been there and it was such a cool set-up.  When we got there we even had a legit sign all decked out for our show that night. It was sweet! They even had a piano there where we didn't have to bring in my portable keyboard. We performed the song "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton for the first time in front of an audience with me on the piano and Sarah on vocals. It was fun bringing that song back from 10 years ago! It wasn't a Christian venue but I was still able to talk about Colombia and my mission trip on the WR.  When we were done going through our set list of mostly secular songs and a few "not in your face" Christian songs.  The guy running the deal wanted us to keep playing.  We told him that the only songs we have left are Christian ones and he said "Well..as long as you're not chanting or doing anything too uncomfortable for people go for it." So we played "How He Loves" and "Restless" and it was cool to be able to worship in the venue.  A bunch of our friends, new and old, showed up and there was a handful of unfamiliar faces there just getting coffee.  Afterwards a girl even came up to me to tell me a friend of hers is on the World Race and she's been following and praying for her and that she will surely do the same for me.  That was so cool to hear! A stranger encouraging me of what I'm doing and backing me up on prayer.  It's always encouraging to meet fellow believes who are in full support of what you're doing and if they don't know you. It's Christ that holds us together.

Side view from stage

Moving Forward

It has been great having a few days of down time but now it's time to keep on movin'! We plan on going through Omaha to pick up our t-shirts!

You can get one through our indiegogo site by clicking here and supporting us (WE'RE ALREADY NEARLY HALFWAY SUPPORTED! PRAISE GOD!) and getting a free one when you give.  They're black with white writing, orange with yellow writing, gray with yellow writing, blue with white writing, and tan with green writing. Otherwise you'll just have to get it at a show (we're not doing any online orders...sorry!)

Then on Saturday we will be heading towards St. Joseph, Missouri for a very long week filled with shows in neighborhoods, a men's shelter, food pantry, and leading chapels at schools.  Thanks so much for supporting us and following us on this journey!!

p.s. my mom just sent me this picture of us being in the Aurora Newspaper back home! Cool! 

Soli Deo Gloria (Latin for glory to God alone!)